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Dessert shop Ice Lab Cafe forced to shut Orchard outlet after court order

Dessert shop Ice Lab Cafe was forced to shut its outlet at Orchard Road over a legal dispute (Photo: Nurul Azliah/Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore)
Dessert shop Ice Lab Cafe was forced to shut its outlet at Orchard Road over a legal dispute (Photo: Nurul Azliah/Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore)

Ice Lab Cafe, a popular South Korean dessert shop, has been forced to shut its outlet at Orchard Shopping Centre in accordance with a court order.

What was once a shop with an all-white and stylish interior is now covered with large paper sheets and four pages of court documents pasted on its glass doors when Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore visited the premises on Wednesday (14 February).

According to the court order dated 28 December 2017, Chungdam International, the company behind Ice Lab Cafe, had to vacate its premises at the Orchard outlet by 24 January 2018 and have its fixed assets there seized by the court baliff. The order was ruled in favour of Sarika Connoisseur Cafe, which owns The Connoisseur Concerto (TCC) coffee chain in Singapore.

The court ordered Chungdam to pay Sarika $369,200, interest of $9,567.38, an additional annual interest of 12 per cent on the two sums from 12 October 2017 until payment, monthly “double rent” of $171,200 from 12 October 2017 until possession of the property, and an additional cost of $10,000.

Legal documents issued by the High Court were pasted on the glass doors of Ice Lab Cafe’s Orchard outlet. (Photo: Nurul Azliah/Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore)
Legal documents issued by the High Court were pasted on the glass doors of Ice Lab Cafe’s Orchard outlet. (Photo: Nurul Azliah/Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore)

Located next to 313@Somerset shopping mall, Ice Lab Cafe was opened by South Korean comedian Shin Jung-hwan in December 2015. The popular 80-seater eatery offered shaved ice desserts of various flavours – also known as bingsu – at $15.30 for a small bowl and $19.30 for a large bowl.

A second outlet opened near Bugis Village in 2016, and is still operating.

Before launching Ice Lab Cafe in Singapore, Shin was mired in controversy over his gambling activities. South Korean media reported that he had exchanged money and illegally gambled hundreds of millions of won in the Philippines in 2010 despite a law that prohibits every South Korean citizen to carry cash of more than US$10,000 (KRW10.8 million) when travelling overseas.

Last year, the former singer announced his return to the South Korean entertainment industry after signing with management agency Koen Stars.

Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore has reached out to Ice Lab Cafe and Sarika for comment.

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